As the 2016-17 Eugene Generals Season Preview Series continues, today we take a look at some of the new faces that are preparing for their first season as members of the Eugene Generals.

While more than half of the Eugene Generals' opening day roster will be comprised of veteran players, the returning core from last year’s squad will be joined by an impressive group of reinforcements, headlined by new net minder Christopher Alexakis. After boasting a pair of stellar twenty-year-olds between the pipes for each of the past two seasons (2014-15: Daniel Spencer; 2015-16: Christopher Pritchard) the Generals will now look towards youngster Christopher Alexakis to be the primary puck stopper after he signed during the offseason from a former foe, the Bellingham Blazers. A former Alaska state champion with West Anchorage High School, the 17-year old put together a phenomenal debut junior season posting a record of 14-4-0-0 with stats that included 1.33 G.A.A. and a .948 save percentage.

Christopher Alexakis will look to build on a tremendous first junior hockey season as he makes the transition up with the Generals to the United States Premier Hockey League.

Two more goaltenders will also join the fray as Jamie Frantz and Christian Zecchetto will battle to receive puck stopping duties throughout the upcoming season. Frantz joins the Generals after growing up and playing his youth hockey in the greater Seattle area for the Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association and the Kent Valley Hockey Association, while Zecchetto travels to Eugene all the way from Brunico, Italy after playing his entire youth and junior career with the Val Pusteria Wolves program.

Jamie Frantz (left) and Christian Zecchetto (right) join Alexakis as the new trio of goaltenders in the Emerald Valley.

In front of the new net minders, plenty of fresh faces will litter the lineup, highlighted by Tristan Bulot, Kyle Lund, Bradley Maddox, and Frazier Mohler. Local players Broc Friesen and Griffin Minchin, both of whom have grown up playing in the Eugene Jr. Generals program, will be making the move up to skate with the Generals as practice players this season in hopes of making next year's roster. In all, this year’s Generals roster includes players hailing from five different states (Alaska, California, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) with Alaska once again leading the way at eight total players. Furthermore, this year’s edition of the Eugene Generals will also include the very first Italian player in franchise history (Zecchetto).

Former Jr. Generals Griffin Minchin (left) and Broc Friesen (right) are eager to begin the transition to the junior hockey level.

For more information on the upcoming season of Generals hockey, be sure to visit www.EugeneGenerals.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Stay tuned throughout the coming days for more of our 2016-17 Eugene Generals Season Preview Series as we’ll take a look at this year’s schedule and what to expect as the franchise enters the United States Premier Hockey League.